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Harry Potter and the Expert Potions Master	By : SickPuppy Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Snape Views: 21304 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter universe. I make no money from this story.

Chapter List
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Epilogue - Fifteen Years Later

Harry walked along the side of the Hogwarts Express, Al and Lily holding his hands. Ahead, James was greeting his friends and talking excitedly.

He had passed Yolanda and Beth who were seeing off their four – Harmony and Jamie in their final year, and their younger siblings Petra and Stephen – and, as always, stopped to greet them and have a chat. His children knew that they owed their lives to these two, but, being children, didn't always behave as if they appreciated that fact. He smiled at them, and congratulated Harmony on being made Head Girl. Jamie, her brother, had caused too much trouble at Hogwarts to even be made a prefect. She, and indeed everyone, called them twins, and the same was said of Petra and Stephen. Jamie grinned down at his 'Uncle' and asked after Severus. Of them all, Jamie seemed to be the only one who delighted in teasing Severus, a dangerous occupation!

Leaving them to say their goodbyes, he walked on. Behind Harry was Ginny, her face smiling as she watched her son – Harry Fred – climb aboard the train and look down on her from the window.

“Be good,” she asked, almost begging it.

“Yeah, Mum, of course. Aren't I always?”

Harry gave his namesake a steady look and the boy flushed. “I'll be good this year, promise.”

“You better, if I get another letter about you I'll tell your Grandmother.”

“Muuuuuummmm!” the younger Harry wailed, clearly feeling this was an unnecessary threat.

Grinning, Harry moved on, still holding tight to his younger children. Lily was grumpy that she couldn't go to Hogwarts this year. Unlike the boys, she had the red hair of Harry's mother, but her grumpier father's dark eyes. James resembled a young Harry, except he too had Severus' eyes. Only Albus, who shared more of his older parent's personality, had Harry's bright green eyes.

He turned them to his father now. “I'm sorry Dad didn't come.”

Harry knelt down. “You know he hates public emotion. And he did say his goodbyes to you both this morning.”

Al chewed his lower lip. “I know, but I'd have liked to say bye to him.” He lowered his voice and admitted, “I'll miss him.”

Harry felt his heart breaking. “He'll miss you too. As will I.”

Lily had wandered off and was chatting to 'Aunt' Ginny and Rose, who had just arrived with 'Aunt' Hermione and 'Uncle' Ron. Now that they were alone, Al turned a worried face up to his father.

“What if I'm put in Gryffindor?” he asked nervously. “What will Dad say?”

Harry hugged his youngest son, knowing how desperately Albus wanted to please his other father. He smiled as he thought of a similar conversation he'd had with James two years ago (but then it had been a fear of being put into Slytherin).

“Albus Severus Potter,” he laid faint stress on Al's middle name as a reminder of his missing father, “You're named for two Hogwarts Headmasters and it was the Slytherin who is the bravest man I know! Neither I nor your Dad care which House you are put in.” Al looked about to speak, but Harry pulled him close and whispered in the boy's ear. “We don't care. Not one bit. But if it bothers you, the Sorting Hat will take your wishes into consideration too.”

Albus sounded as though he were holding back tears. “Really?”

“It did with me.”

Shuddering a little as he controlled his crying, Albus clung to his Dad. “You'll write a lot?”

“Every day, if you want! Trouble needs to keep busy to keep out of mischief.”

“N – not every day. James said most people only get one letter a week.”

A little grimly, Harry remarked, “We wrote to him three times a week last year.”

“R – really?”

“Really. And remember you have blue parchment too, so if you ever need us we're just a quick note away.” Albus hugged his father tightly and then seemed to gather himself. Harry asked, “You ready now?”

James came hurrying back to them and cried disgustedly, “I just saw Teddy snogging Victoire! Our Teddy!”

“You didn't interrupt them did you?” Harry asked.

“Yes! Dad, they were snogging!” James felt the need to repeat this essential point, as if worried his father hadn't understood.

“You are such an idiot,” Harry sighed.

James was plotting. “Teddy and Victoire might marry, then they could move in with us! I wouldn't mind sharing with Al, cos we'd get to see more of Teddy!”

Alarmed, Harry replied, “You two will share a room only when your father and I want the house demolished! Now, get, you little reprobate!”

Grinning, James hugged his father and boarded the train.

Albus looked up at the train while Harry glanced around the platform, smiling at Hermione and Ron.

“No Severus?” she asked after hugging him.

“No, as you know, my husband,” he said the last word self-consciously and looked down in surprised delight at the wedding band he wore, “isn't a fan of highly emotional scenes.”

Ron grinned. “Yeah, watching him at your last anniversary was painful!” He looked along the station, “Oh, so that's Scorpius Malfoy.” He saw Draco and his wife looking imperiously at the hubbub. “Make sure you beat him in every test!” he told his daughter, “Thank Merlin you inherited your mother's brains!”

“Ron! Don't make them hate each other before they even start! And I don't think it was painful at the party, it was lovely to see Severus actually admitting things in public that we've all known for years.”

The memory made Harry smile. Three years previously, same sex couples had been allowed to marry in the Muggle world, which he and Severus had promptly done. Even now, after three years, he still felt that sense of wonder and joy that Severus was his husband. The Daily Prophet had not been entirely supportive; it had led with an article asking 'Is this going too far?' but he hadn't cared, he had everything he wanted: he was Head of the Auror Department and was due at Hogwarts in October to give a series of lectures about jinxes and counter-charms, he had three beautiful children, innumerable 'nieces' and 'nephews' and had the best possible honorary Aunts and Godparents for his and Severus' offspring – George and Angelina for James, Neville and his wife Hannah for Albus, and Luna and her husband Rolf Scamander for Lily (whose middle name had been taken from Luna). All of that plus he was loved by the best man in the world – Severus Snape.

Glancing up at the clock he saw there were only a few minutes left. Al was talking to his sister and to Rose, his face a little pale. Now he caught his father's eye and climbed onto the train, looking as though his knees were going to give out.

“Don't duel anyone until you know how,” Harry warned, “And stay clear of Peeves.” Albus nodded. “Give our - my - our love to Neville.”

“Dad! I can't give love to a professor!”

Around him, children were hanging out of windows and many of them seemed to be staring at Harry. Ron puffed out his chest and declared, “They're all looking at me; I'm famous, you know. Got my own chocolate frog card and everything!”
“Who hasn't?” commented his wife dryly, smiling at him.

Harry looked up into his son's green eyes. “It'll be fine,” he assured him, “we'll see you soon. Take care.” Albus looked about ready to cry again so Harry bit back the three words he ached to say to his children over and over until they got a notion of just how very much they meant to him.

His son nodded as though Harry had actually said the words, his own eyes telling his father how he felt.

The whistle blew and the train began working up steam. Ginny sidled up to him and gave him a look and a quick hug. “I know,” she whispered, “that's how I feel about my son too.”

It had taken a long time, but she had eventually forgiven Harry for not being straight and was now a successful journalist and part of Harry and Severus' life. She still, as George put it 'serial dated' but she hadn't had any more unexpected pregnancies. Her current boyfriend, Dean Thomas, was clearly still deeply in love with her. Harry took it as promising that she kept making vague noises about 'settling down' and hoped that she would choose Dean.

Back in the present, Harry blinked rapidly, trying to hold himself together, knowing Albus would be feeling just as bad. Of their three children, Al had always been closest to his parents, depending on them more than James or Lily had ever seemed to.

The train began to pull away, leaving Harry, Ginny and Lily behind. His daughter waved wildly at her two brothers, tears rolling down her cheeks.

“Come on,” he said to her, rubbing his forehead tiredly. It had been, as it always was, a tiring journey with the three of them. James loved his brother but adored teasing him. And Lily had wanted to know why she couldn't go to Hogwarts yet, it wasn't fair, and Daaaad, James is making faces at me! Somehow, they never behaved so rumbustiously when they were in Severus' charge. He rubbed idly at his scar sighing at his failings as a parent. Still, he thought as he continued stroking the lightning mark, things could have been a lot worse!

For a very long time, his scar hadn't hurt. All was well.

The End

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Harry Potter and the Expert Potions Master